A Higher Motivation

ទំព័រនេះគឺជាបច្ចុប្បន្នមិនអាចប្រើបាននៅក្នុងភាសាខ្មែរ.If you would like to help translate this site please click here.

A Minute with the USA Director - April 2006

By Colin Stott, Executive Director of GRN USA

One of the realities we face with the 10K Challenge is that many of the languages we still want to record are the ones that will be the more difficult to access. This would include those that are severely restricted by geographical, political and religious barriers. Yet God's love for the people who speak those languages motivates us to pursue them.

God's love for all peoples is likened in Isaiah 62:5 to the passionate love that a man has for his bride. That God would love us with such affection has caused me to view our motivation for ministry a little differently. Our focus is usually on the lost and their need to be reconciled to God, which of course is a good thing. Perhaps a higher motivation for reaching the lost, and our first concern, should be to see our Lord's desires met. This will happen as He comes to be loved and adored by the people He has redeemed. We should not want His heart to be grieved any longer by the rejection of those who are the object of His love-those who are still giving their affection and allegiance to false gods and idols.

Imagine if you had a close friend who you wanted to see happily married. Imagine also that your friend is in love with someone who hardly knows that they exist. You would want to do all you could to bring them together. It would be your friend's happiness that motivated you. Your concern for the other person's happiness would be only because they were the object of your friend's affection.

It is the same with our work for God. I believe His happiness should be the great motivating factor in our ministry. This would mean that the reason for the 10K Challenge is first and foremost to see our Lord's joy abound as we introduce many more peoples to Him so they can know Him and soon return His love and affection.